Student Only Great Court

Maintenance was a serious problem during my year there. The kitchen dishwasher stayed broken the whole time, and nobody repaired it. Moisture made the bathroom walls swell and warp until the door wouldn't close, which I believe was a serious health and safety risk that management ignored. The design seemed poor throughout. I accidentally dipped a plastic bottle into the toilet, and it broke through, leaving a hole. The rooms are small and badly laid out. It felt like the building had been packed with an unreasonable number of rooms to get as much rent as possible from international students, and I felt cheated. For what it costs, you can find much better accommodation. I deeply regret staying at a place that, in my experience, takes advantage of students and shows so little care for their wellbeing.

The rooms are very small, and when I opened the window in my room on the 2nd floor, cigarette smoke from the smoking area came in. The furniture and bathrooms were new, though, and the shared areas were spacious and clean. My main problem was the heating. The room radiator kept switching on and off, roughly an hour at a time, and at night the breaks were even longer. It was freezing, and this went on all winter. Hot water was often unavailable too. People in different parts of the building complained, and I have WhatsApp screenshots. They checked my radiator several times, but it never worked properly, and staying in the room in winter was almost impossible. The kitchen radiator was out for the entire winter as well. I raised it with the manager, Karene, several times. Karene sent someone to inspect it, then said there was no problem and that I must be leaving the window open. People on my floor had to cook in coats. After I kept complaining and tried to change accommodation, Karene emailed to accuse me of making it up. My flatmates later emailed Karene to confirm I wasn't the only one raising the kitchen heating issue, but nothing changed. There was also a refund I never received. In February, Karene said I'd been overcharged for the first two weeks and would get the money back after signing a new contract. I'd paid £1300, so the overcharge was about £600. I'd told Karene the heating situation was a breach and that I was considering small claims court, so getting a new contract right after that felt suspicious. I compared the old and new versions Karene sent and couldn't see any difference. I asked Karene to explain what had changed. There was no explanation, but I signed in good faith because Karene promised the refund would be processed. Nine months later, after many emails and messages to Karene and then the new managers, it still hadn't been paid, despite assurances, and nobody explained why. Management kept changing, so I forwarded Karene's original emails to each new manager and explained everything again, but it went nowhere. In August, a new manager said they owed me £60 and asked for my payment details. Even that hasn't arrived. They owe me around £660 in total, and Karene and management have taken no responsibility. The only reason I'm posting is so other international students don't go through the same thing. I have the WhatsApp messages and emails to back this up, and I'm happy to share them. I'm sure management may deny what I've written, but this isn't an attempt to attack anyone.

There are always problems here. The lift has been broken for ages, and they keep giving excuses instead of fixing it. The heater keeps breaking too. Management is very bad.

The rent is on the high side, but it includes free bike rentals, a gym, and a cinema room. Staff are friendly and easy to approach, and manager Karene has been quite accommodating with my requests during the four months I've lived here. Management and staff also regularly put on social events and gatherings for residents.